M16/M4 Handbook. Erik Lawrence
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Название: M16/M4 Handbook

Автор: Erik Lawrence

Издательство: Ingram

Жанр: Учебная литература

Серия:

isbn: 9781941998465

isbn:

СКАЧАТЬ RECEIVER- Flat top with detachable carrying handle

      The barrel rifling twists vary from the original 1 turn in 12 inches (1/12) on the first M16 series guns shooting 55-grain bullets, to the current 1/7 twist on the M16A2/A4 service rifle and M4 Carbine. The faster twist is necessary to stabilize the longer, heavier SS109 62-grain bullet with steel penetrator used in M855 ammunition.

      CHAPTER 2

      DIRECT - IMPINGEMENT GAS SYSTEM THEORY

      The M4/AR-15 family of weapons uses a direct-impingement gas system which does not utilize a gas piston. When a round is discharged, the bullet passes the gas port in the barrel where gas is tapped off into the gas tube and redirected back to the bolt carrier key. The gas enters the gas carrier key and is channeled into an expansion chamber in the bolt carrier. The gas is trapped between the rear portion of the expansion chamber and the gas rings towards the rear of the bolt. As the gas expands, it is contained by the bolt gas rings and acts on the bolt carrier, pushing it to the rear, and operating the bolt cam pin in the bolt carrier’s cam surface. As the bolt carrier moves to the rear, the bolt rotates 22.5 degrees clockwise, unlocks, and begins extraction of the expended cartridge case.

      Variants- Numerous variants are available throughout the country and world, and nearly all work the same way. The key to keeping this system running reliably, with minimum maintenance, is ensuring that all the critical parts related to extraction and ejection and prone to wear are serviceable. These parts are extractor and spring, ejector and spring, gas rings, and buffer spring. If all these are in good serviceable condition and relatively clean, the M4 Carbine is extremely reliable.

      NOTE

      The buffer in the M4 should be marked with an “H” for heavy. This is a heavier buffer and aids in reliability by slowing down the cyclic rate. This point is covered in depth in Chapter 8.

      Figure 2-1 Direct-Impingement Gas System prior to firing

      Figure 2-2 Direct-Impingement Gas System during firing

      CHAPTER 3

      BALLISTICS

      BALLISTICS

      The study of the flight characteristics of projectiles (bullets).

      TRAJECTORY

      The path of a moving body (bullet) while in flight.

      HOLDS

      (hold-over/hold-under and windage hold left or right)

      How far you must place your aiming point over, under, left, or right of the desired point of impact to achieve a hit.

      EXTERNAL BALLISTICS

      Soldiers must understand the basics of external ballistics so they can make necessary scope adjustments or hold compensations to allow them to hit the target. The external ballistic factors that affect bullet trajectory are:

      1.GRAVITY

      The force of gravity on a bullet is constant regardless of its weight, shape, or velocity. The longer a bullet is in the air or the greater its angle from the vertical, the more effect gravity will have on its trajectory.

      2.MUZZLE VELOCITY

      Muzzle velocity is the speed of a bullet as it leaves the barrel, measured in feet per second. Muzzle velocity diminishes as the bullet gets farther away. The bullet reaches its maximum velocity 76 feet from the end of the rifle and slows down from there until it reaches the target.

      3.AIR RESISTANCE OR DRAG

      Air resistance or drag immediately produces a slowing effect on a bullet.

      4.ALTITUDE AND/OR AIR DENSITY

      The greater the altitude, the thinner the air and the longer the bullet will travel (with a correspondingly flatter trajectory). Each 5,000-foot elevation will raise the strike of the bullet 1/2 to 1 minute of angle.

      5.TEMPERATURE

      Deviation from standard daytime temperature (59 degrees Fahrenheit/15 degrees Celsius) affects bullet trajectory.

      A.Cold air is denser than warm air, meaning the bullet must travel through more tightly packed air particles. This causes the bullet to lose velocity, resulting in the impact being lower than the intended point of impact. Cooler air also causes lower chamber pressure, which reduces the initial velocity.

      B.Warm or hot temperatures cause the strike of the round to move up.

      6.TRAJECTORY

      When a projectile exits the muzzle of a rifle, it drops from the line of departure, otherwise known as the center-bore line. As the projectile travels downrange, the velocity is decreased by air drag, giving way to the inevitable force of gravity. This effect creates trajectory.

      A.Line of Sight

      The line of sight is an imaginary straight line extending from the shooter’s eye through the telescopic sight, or rear and front sights, to the target.

      B.Line of Departure

      C.The line of departure is an imaginary straight line extendingfrom the center of the barrel to infinity.

      D.Zero Range

      Zero range is where the projectile intersects the line of sight. It occurs at two points — one on the way up and one on the way down.

      E.Apex (maximum ordinate)

      Otherwise known as midrange trajectory, the apex is the point where the projectile is at its highest in relation to the line of sight.

      F.Bullet Path

      The bullet path is the relationship of a projectile and the line of sight at any given range (normally expressed in inches).

      7.WIND

      Although gravity and air drag are the only forces that act on the trajectory, other external factors influence the trajectory relative to the point of aim, such as wind, altitude, temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure. Wind is by far the most significant.

      A.Because the bullet is moving through the air, the air moves the bullet. Wind deflection is always in the same direction the wind is moving. A wind blowing from the left will move the bullet to the right. Deflection decreases as the angle of the wind to the line of flight decreases. Reading and correcting for wind effectively takes practice, especially at longer

      B.To shoot accurately in the wind, a shooter must know the wind velocity, wind direction, and the value of deflection at the range at which he is shooting.

      8.ANGLES

      Firing uphill or downhill at an angle of 45 degrees or more normally causes the bullet to hit high relative to a horizontal trajectory. If the shooter is firing on an angle up or down at a СКАЧАТЬ